This invention relates to a connector and, in particular, to a connector (hereinafter called a “floating connector”) capable of performing floating movement (free movement) in a connector fitting direction and in a direction perpendicular to the connector fitting direction.
FIGS. 1 and 2 show an existing floating connector.
Referring to FIG. 1, a female connector 20 is disposed in a housing 60 and supported by a pair of floating spring portions 101. A reference numeral 80 represents a cap. In case where the floating spring portions 101 are set to be hard, the female connector 20 can be excellently positioned with respect to a male connector 51 upon fitting. However, a reactive force of the hard floating spring portions 101 continuously applies a load upon the housing 60.
If the floating spring portions 101 are set to be soft as illustrated in FIG. 2, the load applied upon the housing 60 is reduced. However, a positioning error tends to occur upon fitting the male and the female connectors 51 and 20. This brings about a trouble in fitting.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication (JP-A) No. 2000-348829 discloses a floating connector apparatus comprising a first connector, a second connector, unlatching means, and resetting means.
FIG. 3 shows a state where the second connector 118 disclosed in JP 2000-348829 A is going to be fitted to the first connector 116 in a direction depicted by an arrow C. FIG. 4 shows a state where the second connector 118 is completely fitted to the first connector 116. FIG. 5 shows a state where the second connector 118 further moves towards the first connector 116 in the direction depicted by the arrow C.
Referring to FIG. 3, in the floating connector apparatus 110, the unlatching means 146 comprises a triangular stopper boss 148 disposed between the first connector 116 and an adapter 114, integrally formed with the first connector 116, and protruding from both of upper and lower surfaces of the first connector 116. The stopper boss 148 moves between a pair of stopper surfaces 152 formed on distal inner ends of a pair of unlatching arms 154, respectively.
Herein, the magnitude of a force required to push the stopper boss 148 over the stopper surfaces 152 under a bending force of the arms 154 is determined by an angle of a pair of stopper surfaces 150 of the stopper boss 148. The angle is an angle such that a force greater than a fitting force of the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 is required in order to move the stopper boss 148 over the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154. Therefore, the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 are fitted to each other before the first connector 116 can perform floating movement with respect to the adapter 114.
The latching/unlatching means 146 is formed so that the first connector 116 is latched against the floating movement in a fitting direction and that the second connector 118 can be fitted to the first connector 116 with a predetermined fitting force without the floating movement.
When the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 are fitted to each other, the latching/unlatching means 146 unlatches latching of the first connector 116 in response to a force greater than the fitting force. As a result, the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 fitted to each other are allowed to perform the floating movement in an axial direction with respect to the adapter 114 and the panel.
On the other hand, the resetting means is disposed between the first connector 116 and the adapter 114 in order to reset the unlatching means 146 in response to a resetting force smaller than a fitting releasing force given to the second connector 118 in a fitting releasing direction (opposite to the arrow C in FIG. 4). The resetting means is formed simply by shaping the boss 148 into a diamond shape to form a pair of stopper surfaces 160 faced to a direction opposite to the stopper surfaces 150.
Next, description will be made of an operation of the connector apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 3 to 5.
Referring to FIG. 3, in the state before the second connector 118 is fitted to the first connector 116 in the direction depicted by the arrow C, a locking member is engaged with a front part of a locking hole. Therefore, the first connector 116 can not move frontward. In addition, since the boss 148 is engaged with the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154, the connector 116 can not move rearward also. Therefore, the first connector 116 does not float.
Referring to FIG. 4, in the state where the second connector 118 is completely fitted to the first connector 118, the triangular boss 148 of the unlatching means 146 does not move over the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154. The force required to move the boss 148 over the stopper surfaces 152 is greater than the fitting force between the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 so that the first connector 116 is not yet allowed to perform the floating movement.
Referring to FIG. 5, in the state where the second connector 118 further moves towards the first connector 116 in the direction depicted by the arrow C, a force greater than the fitting force is applied to the second connector 118 and the triangular boss 148 of the first connector 116 moves over the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154 of the adapter 114. Consequently, the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 fitted to each other are allowed to perform floating movement in the fitting direction with respect to the adapter 114 and the panel within a range defined by the locking member 130 located in the locking hole 128 of the adapter 114 to lock the first connector 116.
As is obvious from FIGS. 3 to 5, the stopper surfaces 160 of the resetting means form an angle smaller than that formed by the stopper surfaces 150 in the fitting and the fitting releasing directions. In this state, the boss 148 can be returned outward over the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154 with a force smaller than the fitting releasing (fitting) force. Therefore, when the fitting releasing force is applied to the second connector 118 in a direction opposite to the arrow C in FIG. 5, the boss 148 returns to a position illustrated in FIG. 4 outward from the stopper surfaces 152 of the arms 154 without releasing the second connector 118 from the first connector 116.
Then, the first and the second connectors 116 and 118 can be completely released from each other as shown in FIG. 3. The first connector 116 is no longer allowed to perform floating movement in the fitting direction.
The above-mentioned connector apparatus 110 is disadvantageous in that, even in case where a designed maximum number of contacts are not used, for example, in case where the connector apparatus 110 is used with only 60 contacts inserted in a housing designed for 100 contacts, a fitting force for the maximum number of contacts is required.